No Angels
by midaswhale
Summary: Heather Coleman is used to seeing and talking to spirits; after all, she has been doing it since she was a toddler. But it's definitely a surprise when one comes forward and asks for a favor - she wants Heather to find her son, Erik.
1. Chapter 1

Seeing dead people wasn't exactly a new thing for Heather. In fact, it was pretty common occurrence in her life - a day was never complete without at least one sighting. Which was rare - and by rare, she meant impossible - because there was a terrifying amount of ghosts left over in this world. Whether they chose to stay behind or they had some unresolved business didn't seem to change the fact that they were nearly everywhere - some knowing they were dead, the others...not so much.

But it wasn't like they scared Heather or anything. No, she'd gotten over that fear a long time ago, even years before the man-with-no-jaw - her first ghost - had stopped standing at the foot of her bed. It was at that point that she realized that while it was easy to be afraid of them, it was also pretty easy to not be afraid of them. After all, most of them didn't mean any real harm and were actually pretty understanding. And those that did mean harm, well, it was easy for her to get rid of them after some practice.

The spirits could see Heather too. As stupid as that sounds. The ghosts could, of course, see other human beings normally, but they were drawn to Heather. She was sort of like a beacon for dead - a human that could finally see them without using phony mediums or fancy equipment. But with that came the price of her privacy. It was pretty common for her to be cleaning the fog off of the mirror after a shower and see a face behind her. Really, it'd happened more than once.

So Heather wasn't really surprised when she put the milk back in the fridge and closed the door to find a woman staring at her. The woman looked at her with wide dark eyes, before saying in rough voice, "Find my son." Heather's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but before she could say anything, the woman repeated herself - "Find my son" - and disappeared completely.

Favors - now that was a new one. Unfortunately, the woman hadn't left her name or her son's and, after a week, Heather had a feeling that the woman wasn't coming back.

Boy, was she wrong.

Almost two weeks after the woman's first appearance, Heather, while walking into her apartment with an armful of groceries, was met with the sight of the lady-with-a-missing-son. "Hi," Heather said simply, before walking past her into the kitchen. She put the bag down on the counter before turning to face the woman. Now that she wasn't leaving within five seconds of them meeting, Heather finally looked over her features.

The woman was average height but terribly thin. She had a tan face and short curly dark hair that was pulled back and mostly hidden under a scarf of some sort. She wore an older looking dress, probably around twenty or so years old, but it was stained with blood that covered nearly all of her chest and -

A Star of David.

Something twisted in her gut at the sight of it, remembering her older brother telling her horror stories of the bodies he saw while fighting in Germany.

"You died in the Holocaust, didn't you?" She made her voice as soft and polite as she could, but the woman still sighed deeply, almost like it pained her. "Yes," She answered, her voice heavy with a familiar accent, "I did." They were silent for a second, before the woman added, "Please find my son."

Ah - the favor again. "Ma'am, I don't - "

"Please find my son."

"I - " And soon enough, Heather was looking at nothing but air. She let out a frustrated sigh, silently cursing whoever thought that mediumship was fun, before turning to put her groceries away. Later that night, while curling up under her covers, her thoughts returned back to the Jewish woman. Had her son died too? Had they been separated? Why did the woman always have to leave so suddenly? Pushing those thoughts aside, she squeezed her eyes closed and became determined to get a full night of sleep. And she did.

Almost.

In the early morning hours, Heather woke up, needing to use the restroom. Yawning, she slowly sat up and walked through her bedroom door, rubbing her eyes. But when she blinked, she was standing in front of a cemetery, the breeze chilly on her bare shoulders. Ah - yet another fun thing ghosts could do. They could put her in fugue state and make her walk wherever they wanted. Which today returned out to be the freaking cemetery. Perfect.

Looking behind her and seeing no one, Heather crossed her arms and began walking slowly through the gate of the graveyard. She walked a little further before she saw a familiar looking shadow sitting by one of the gravestones. She was silent as she approached only saying a word when she was by the woman's side. "Are you buried here?"

The woman looked up from the wet grass with a small smile, responding, "No, liebe. I'm buried in Germany, but I thought you'd prefer staying a little closer to home." Heather snorted, before shivering and rubbing her forearms briefly. "And why exactly did you bring me out to the freezing cemetery at 2:30 in the morning?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"And we couldn't have done that at my house?"

"I wanted to make a statement."

A ghost with style - how beautiful. Heather let out a breath, before responding, "I don't do favors, ma'am. I'm sorry, but I can't help you." The woman's eyes narrowed. "You can't or you won't?" Heather wanted to give her a dirty look, but tried to stay polite. "I can't. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go home." The woman rolled her eyes, but disappeared and she started to make way back home.

She thought that that would be the last time she'd see the Jewish woman. Of course, she was wrong.

The woman was everywhere after that. The library, the grocery store, the theatre, her favorite diner, her apartment - especially her bedroom, while she was trying to sleep. While it normally wouldn't bother her, the woman had an aura that made Heather nervous and a lot like a small kid again. Not to mention the woman loved singing while she tried to sleep.

Heather was strong. She could handle this. In a week or two, the woman would get bored and move on to some other medium. But she didn't. A week later, Heather was going insane. She had no sleep under her belt and she had more paranoia than the entire United States government.

And one night, with her face pressed against her pillow and her hands covering her ears, the sound of the Jewish woman singing in an annoying voice - the song was in German but Heather could just tell it was some kind of annoying children's rhyme - finally got to her. "Fine!" She screamed, the voice finally - and blissfully - stopping as she threw herself upwards to glare daggers at the woman. "For the love of god, fine! I'll help you just please, please never sing that song ever again."

The smirk on the woman's face almost had Heather screaming again, but she stayed where she was. "Now, are you going to give me a few details before you send me off on a wild goose chase?"

"My name is Edie. Edie Lehnsherr. My son's name is Erik Lehnsherr."

"Do you know where he lives?"

There was silence, before Heather covered her face with her hands, sighing loudly. "You don't know where he lives, do you?" She took the silence as a 'I-don't-know' and let out another sigh, deciding that she really hated life.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where are we going?"

Heather jumped slightly at the sudden appearance, closing her eyes and breathing deeply as she counted to ten in an attempt to calm herself and not try to strangle the ghost. With her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, she opened her eyes and turned her head to look over at Edie. "You want to not scare me to death next time?" Heather asked, her voice full of annoyance, "What if I had already been driving? I would be - "

"Are you going to lecture me or are you going to start the car?" The look on Heather's face was less than impressed, but she turned the keys anyway, the engine coming to life with a click. As she reversed out of the parking lot, Edie continued, "You never answered my question." Heather was silent for a moment, focusing on the road instead of the question at hand, before finally answering. "We're going to see my friend."

Edie raised her eyebrow, questioning her further, "A friend?"

"Yes, a friend who could help us with our little Erik problem."

Edie visibly relaxed upon hearing the statement, a soft smile gracing her face, and for a moment, Heather couldn't help but smile a little too. "I can't promise that he'll be able to help," she added, because she'd hate to get this woman's hopes up, "All I can promise is that he'll try his hardest. Or at least I'll make him." Edie glanced at her in confusion, but stayed silent, only nodding slightly.

The two rode in silence the rest of the way before they finally arrived at a large, concrete buildings with many tiny windows. As they pulled into the parking garage, Edie squinted out the window, confusion evident on her face as she asked, "What is this place?"

"It's the Department of Justice building, but it's basically the FBI headquarters," Heather responded as she parked and turned off the engine, while Edie looked surprised by what she had just heard and continued to gap. "The FBI? Your friend is part of the FBI?" Heather moved quickly out of the car, slamming her door shut as she went. "Pretty much. Not come on, we don't have all day."

There was no noise to tell Heather that Edie had exited that vehicle or was even following, but the intense presence behind her was hint that she was there. Entering the building through the visitor door, they were greeted by the noisy main hall, full of busy lawyers, paralegals and agents. Heather made her way through the crowd easily before finally approaching the main desk. She put on her sweetest, most charming smile and spoke politely to the woman. "I'm here to see Special Agent Joseph Moran."

The woman pushed her cat eye glasses up to the bridge of her nose, before asking, "Do you have an appointment to see him, hun?" Heather's smile changed to an apologetic one. "I'm afraid not. But if you call him, he'll probably let me up."

"Alright, name?"

"Heather. Heather Coleman."

"Okay, well, I'll call up and see. There's a few chairs over there if you wanna wait." Heather thanked her, before going to sit down, her head already hurting from the noise the crowd was creating. "Are you sure he'll let you up there?" Heather snorted upon hearing that, glancing over at where Edie was currently seating. "Of course he will. We've been friends since we were in diapers."

"Miss Coleman?" Heather looked back at Edie with a smirk, simply saying "That should be him" before standing and walking to the front desk. The woman cleared Heather to go up, signalling one of the guards to guide her up to Agent Moran's office. The ride up the elevator was silent and slightly uncomfortable, but thankfully short, and soon they were on the correct floor. The guard motioned for Heather to follow him and she did so obediently. They passed by many offices and other agents, before finally reaching Moran's, where the guard nodded at her to go in briefly before turning to leave.

Heather entered the room without knocking or hesitance and was almost immediately picked up in a bearhug. "Hey, Feather, it's so great to see you," Joey laughed, swinging her around happily, and Heather couldn't help but laugh too. "Great to see you too, Joey."

Once he put her down, Heather finally got a good look at him. He was a very tall man, several inches over 6 foot, and was still rather lean, but, while he was no doubt handsome, he had a rather babyish looking face, almost as if a toddler had taken steroids. "So," he asked, "What brings you here today?"

"I need a favor." Joey's eyebrows furrowed questionably, opening his mouth to ask further, but Heather beat him to it. "And no, it's not about drugs. Or...anything like that. I just - I need you to help me find someone."

"Look, Heather, I'm not a matchmak - "

"Not like that," Heather nearly shrieked, "I mean I need you to help me locate a person." Joey visibly relaxed, but kept his cool. "Is this person missing?"

"No - yes - no. I don't know." Joey raised an eyebrow, but Heather continued, "I just - a friend of mine is looking for her son. They were - separated during the Holocaust and she thinks he came here." Joey's eyes softened. "Feather, as good of a cause as that is - " Oh no " - you know I can't go digging around in other people's files." Normally, Heather would have taken the no and left but -

She could feel Edie's presence and - she couldn't let this woman suffer any longer. Ah - screw morals. "Please, Joey," Heather pushed, "You're my best friend. I'll do anything. Please, you just - you gotta help me with this. What if you lost your son? How would you feel?"

"I don't have a son - "

"Whatever, just pretend you do. I just want to help her find him. I'm not going to steal his social security number or anything. I just want to reunite two family members who have no else in the world besides the other."

Joey was silent for a moment, before looking a loud, over dramatic sigh. "I'll see what I can do - " Heather was already moving forward to throw her arms around him, a wide smile on her face, "Thank you so much, Joey - " But he stopped her, adding, " - But it's going to cost you."

Heather rolled her eyes, "Fine, fine. Anything you want. Besides a date because you're like my brother, Joey." Joey put a hand over his heart, as though he had been hurt, letting out another loud, mournful sigh, "Oh, however shall I go on?" With a sharp slap to his shoulder, Joey snickered, before responding, "I was thinking more in terms of money anyway."

Of course. "How much were you - "

"Fifty." Heather raised an eyebrow at the man in front of her. "Just fifty? I would have thought you'd want, I don't know, more." Joey winked at her, saying, "It's not every day I get to break the law. Now what's this little tikes' name?"

"Erik Lehnsherr."

Once Joey left his office to go dig through some files, Heather was left alone for a long time before Edie appeared, a tenderness in her expression that Heather had never seen before. "Thank you," Edie said at last. Heather looked at her in confusion from where she was seated, asking, "Why are you thanking me? We haven't even found him yet."

"You're trying though. And that's very important to me." Heather shrugged, simply saying, "It's nothing - "

"No, it's not just "nothing" to me. You're helping me find my boy after so many years. That's - it's everything." Heather felt her throat tightening, the thoughts 'This is what a mother's supposed to be' and 'This is the mother I want' swirling around in her head, before she let out a shaky laugh. "I didn't know moms were like this," She finally responded.

The look on Edie's face was a little concerned as she asked, "Like what?" Heather waved at her, answering, "So - I don't know, protective? Willing to go to the edge of the world and back for their kids?" Edie moved closer to her and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door of Joey's office opening.

"I think I found something."


	3. Chapter 3

Heather turned around immediately to face Joey, trying desperately to hide her blush. What if he had been standing there the whole time? She questioned, her stomach somersaulting at the thought. What if he thinks I'm crazy? But if Joey had noticed anything out of the ordinary, he didn't say a word.

Instead he walked over to his desk, waving a simple, beige folder around and motioning for Heather to come forward. "There was only one Erik Lehnsherr registered in the system, so either this is the right guy or you're out of luck." Heather nodded in understanding, before silently taking the folder out of his hands and opening it. Within, there were a couple of white sheets full of information and she flipped through them absentmindedly before she came across a picture.

Erik was quite an attractive man with fair skin, grayish-blue eyes, and short, ruffled brownish hair. While Heather was studying the picture, she felt Edie appear behind her and look over her shoulder, before hearing a quick in take of breath and Edie whispering, "That's him." Hearing that, Heather didn't even look up at Joey as she stated, "This is him." Flipping back to the sheets in the front, she slimmed through to find an address or a location of some sort.

"Westchester County, New York..." Heather mumbled to herself in disbelief. For the love of god, the guy lived 4 hours away from Washington DC. Heather - who hated long distance traveling - groaned internally, before finally looking up at Joey, who had been silently watching her. "Is it a possibility for me to take this with me?"

"No can do, Feather. Boss could kick my ass for just thinking about a file not included in my case. Can you imagine what he'd do if it went missing?"

Heather opened her mouth to speak, but Joey continued, "But because you're my best friend - "

" - I'm your only friend - "

" - Hurtful. I'll let you write down whatever you need." Joey tossed her a pen and scrap paper, and Heather quickly scribbled down the address of where Erik was currently living. Folding it up, she slipped it into her purse before turning to face Joey. "Thank you so much, Joey. You're a life saver." Joey gave her a smug smirk, responding, "Yeah, I know. I'm the best." Heather rolled her eyes, but still pulled him in for a big hug.

I'm sorry that I'm using you, she wanted to say, as she tightened her arms around his waist, I'm sorry I can't tell you the truth.

Heather sat in her car for a full 2 minutes before Edie finally appeared, a curious look on her face. "When are we planning to head to Westchester County?" Heather looked over at the woman, replying, "As soon as I can find the next bus to New York."

"Why don't you just drive?"

"I hate driving out of state. It - makes me nervous, like what if a ghost pops up and I get in a wreck or something? I can't really help anyone if I'm dead too, you know?"

Edie nodded calmly, leaning back against the car seat with her eyes closed, looking as if she was relaxed and worry free. "Are you going to start the car anytime soon?"

"Just - give me a minute."

Silence. And then - "Are you also going to tell me what you meant by 'I didn't know moms were like this'?"

Heather swore for a moment that her heart stopped. She sat there, frozen, wondering what to do or what to even say. Do I tell her the truth? Do I lie? Do I tell her its none of her business? No, no, not after everything she'd been through, she didn't deserve to closed off like that. Plus she had seen (and heard) what this woman was willing to do to get what she wanted. And she had a 4 hour ride ahead of her. After a moment of thought, she replied in a soft voice, "I had a pretty bad mom. She, uh, never really wanted kids, especially one who saw dead people. She pretty much ignored me, except for when she needed someone to scream at." Or hit, but Heather didn't add that. No need to make it seem worse.

Hearing a huff, Heather looked over at Edie, who was now sitting up with an expression was so angry that she was glad she wasn't her mother. "How could a mother just do that to her child? It shouldn't matter if your baby is a mutant or not, they're still - "

"Edie," Heather said loudly, getting her attention, "I know that. You know that. It doesn't matter. It's in the past." Edie looked like she wanted to argue further, but she simply sighed, leaning back against the car seat again. Heather started the car and began backing out of the parking spot, when Edie's words hit her. Mutant. How did Edie know about mutants? Had she been one?

"So - the whole mutants thing. Were you - "

"No, I wasn't," Edie replied easily, before adding, "But Erik was. He could - control metal, but it was hard for him to do at times." The mood in the car suddenly turned sad and Edie looked out the window, the look of a kicked puppy in her eyes, so Heather decided not to press further.

At home, Heather quickly packed a total of 2 days worth of clothing after deciding that she wasn't going to stay long after reuniting Erik and Edie. After all, it wasn't her place to intrude on their lives. Thankfully, Heather arrived just in time to catch the last NY bus of the day and, after finding her seat, decided that now would be the perfect chance to catch up on a few much needed z's.

And it turned out that Edie was willing to let her - to the point of Heather nearly missing her stop.

"Wha?" Heather slurred, as someone kept speaking in her ear. "Heather, our stop is coming up in 5 minutes. Wake up." Heather opened her eyes, blinking groggily before squinting out the window. "What - I slept the whole ride?" She questioned in disbelief, as she reached down and pulled her bag on her lap. She made sure to keep her voice low because, even though none of the people around her were paying attention, it would still be creepy to over hear a girl talking to herself.

"Yeah," Edie laughed, "I was afraid for a moment that you were dead." Heather rolled her eyes playfully, before the bus came to a complete stop. Exiting the bus, Heather finally glanced down at her watch and noticed that it was a little after 11 pm, and decided that her best bet was to check into a hotel for the night. "We'll head out to find Erik tomorrow morning," she explained to Edie as the two made their way out of the bus stop, "But, for now, I'm going to find somewhere to stay."

The hotel she found was cheap and pretty simple looking, though she was terribly creeped out when the old man at the front desk kept staring at her with hungry eyes. She defiantly made sure to lock her door after that.


	4. Chapter 4

Standing in front of the mirror, trying to figure out what the hell to do with her limp hair, was when Heather realized that she had no idea what to even say to Erik. Dear god, had she just planned to burst in and say what, exactly? 'I see dead people.' 'Surprise, your mom's a ghost.' 'Your mother is an insanely determined woman.' This guy was going to think that she belonged in the insane asylum. Not to mention the fact that this could cause the poor guy even more sadness than it was worth.

What if he didn't even want to be found?

Perfect. Now that she was so close to finding Erik, her common sense was beginning to return. Heather let out a sigh, realizing that it was too late to back out, that she had no choice but to go through it. For Edie. For Erik.

Heather ran her fingers through her tragically straight brown hair, looking at it with resentment, before walking over to the bed to dig through her bag for a headband. Thinking it, she let out a victorious hum before returning to the mirror and put it across her forehead, pushing back over her hair. Tucking it behind her ears, she took a step back to examine her handiwork.

She noticed the dark, heavy bags under her dark brown - so dark they were almost black - eyes and soon cursed herself for not remembering to grab some makeup or something to cover them up because she looked like she was suffering from a goddamn hangover.

Not to mention that her shirt looked like something the pilgrims would wear.

This was going to be a great day.

"Are you ready to go, liebe?" Heather had noticed Edie standing behind her, the mirror reflecting her thin face, and thankfully didn't suffer from a heart attack at the ghost's sudden appearance. "Yeah, yeah, I am," She said, turning to look back at the woman, "Just let me grab my bag and we'll be off." Edie simply nodded and waited quietly as Heather grabbed the bag quickly and exited the room, key in hand. The two were silent on their walk through the hallway, before Edie finally broke the silence. "So, are you nervous?"

"No. Maybe. Yes," Heather laughed breathlessly, "To be honest, I'm terrified. I'm - not good with people. After all, my company is usually either Joey or, you know, dead." Edie gave her a small smile, obviously not trying to laugh, "You'll be fine. Just try to be yourself - " Heather snorted at that, but Edie gave her sharp look, before continuing, " - And don't panic."

"What if he doesn't believe me?"

"I could always tell you some of his embarrassing baby stories. I feel like that would be very convincing."

Heather, surprised, choked a little bit at that comment, replying with "We'll count that as Plan B for now." Silence fell over them again, as they began to climb down the stairs, before she finally asked, "How can you be so calm?" Edie turned to look at her, the smile not fully reaching her eyes. "Oh, I am. Don't worry, I am. Just the possibility of seeing him after all this time, to see the man he's become - well, it overlaps the fear." Heather opened her mouth, stunned by the woman's words. That was - no words could really describe it. It made her almost proud to have taken the job, to give this woman and her boy together at last -

"Plus I'm not the one that has to explain this all to him."

Great.

"I really wish you would have taken the car."

Heather resisted the very strong urge to glare at Edie as the two walked along a dirt road. "You don't even get tired," She snapped, "You weren't even here for the last 4 miles." The look Edie gave her said something along the lines of 'what's your point' and Heather just decided that it was pointless to argue further, dropping the topic quickly.

Edie suddenly stopped, her eyes squinting as she gazed ahead of them. "What? What's wrong?" Heather asked curiously. "There's a lane up ahead. 1407 Graymalkin Lane is the address we need, yeah?" Heather's stomach did somersaults, relieved and terrified to have found the damned place. "Yeah, it is. How much farther?"

"Not too far. Hurry up, let's go." Edie disappeared again and Heather growled - a noise that didn't sound intimidating, instead sounding like she was choking - as she continued to walk on.

Ghosts these days.

When Heather first saw the house - more like castle, holy shit - her jaw nearly hit the ground. Never in her life had she seen a house - that a president didn't live in - that looked so huge or so elegant. 'Damn,' she thought to herself, as she walked up the cement steps of the mansion, 'Erik found a pretty great place to live.'

She stood in front of the wooden doors for a moment, raising her fist slowly, hesitating, before banging it against the wood. 'Alright,' she thought to herself as she stepped back to wait. 'I'll just - talk to Erik, tell him the truth, then go home and curl up in a fuzzy blanket and mourn over my non existent social life,' she thought, trying to calm her breathing, 'Everything will be fine, everything will be fine, everything will be -

The man answering was not Erik.

- Not fine.

The man was around her height, maybe a little shorter, but none the less around her age. He had wavy brown hair and the brightest blue eyes - like holy shit, man - and he was staring at her expectantly and oh my god, did she not think of the possibility that Erik wasn't alone? The man gave her a kind, small smile, but his eyes said 'why the hell is this girl on my porch not saying anything?'

Heather opened her mouth, but she was at a loss of words. 'Say something, you idiot', she shrieked inside of her head, 'Don't just stand there!' So she did. Or at least tried to. "Uh," she began, trying to find something not totally embarrassing to say, something that would smooth over the awkwardness, something that wouldn't make her want to jump off a cliff, "Uh, hi."

Where's the nearest cliff?


	5. Chapter 5

All Heather wanted to do was abort the goddamn mission and go crawl under a rock and ponder over how she even maintained to survive the last 25 years of her life. But she couldn't do that because the man was still staring straight into her eyes - into her freaking soul - with the most confused look she'd ever seen and - and she couldn't just quit on Edie or Erik. They needed her. Even if she was the most awkward thing to grace the earth, and even if there was a possibility that instead of helping, she really could just be hurting one by rubbing salt on his wounds.

The man continued to stare at her, before his nervous smile returned and he replied in what sounded like a British accent, "Hello there. Can I, uh, help you with something?"

Wow, if some weird pilgrim girl was on Heather's front porch and not saying a word, she would have shut the door and called the police by now. So - maybe this was a good sign. She took a deep breath and nearly cried in relief when words - real words - came out of her mouth. "Is Erik Lehnsherr here?"

The man blinked in surprise, responding, "Yes, he - "

Heather honestly didn't to interrupt or seem rude, but when the word "yes" came out of his mouth, Edie's presence behind her intensified and something - power maybe? she had no clue - surged through her and she blurted out, "Could I come in? To talk to him?" Her cheeks heated up slightly, as she added, "Sorry, it's - just very important that I speak to him."

The man nodded after a few seconds, beckoning her inside. She gulped, stepping over the threshold, and looked around, taking in her surrounding. The inside of the house, while very elegant and beautiful, didn't look cozy nor did it look very lived in with dust collecting on a few surfaces and some random cardboard boxes scattered through the main hall. "Do you mind me asking what your name is?"

"No, not at all," Heather replied, trying her best to sound polite while also trying not to hyperventilate, "I'm Heather Coleman."

The man's nervous smile relaxed into a much more normal and natural one. "Charles. Charles Xavier." He held out his hand for her to shake and Heather stared at it for a moment, heart beating wildly against her rib cage - humancontacthumancontactohgod - before surprising herself by taking it calmly and shaking it firmly instead of, you know, continuing to stare at it in fear. He released her hand after a few seconds before beckoning her once more to follow him. Charles lead her a few feet down the hall before walking through a wide entryway into what appeared to be a sitting room.

He motioned for her to sit, simply saying "I'll be right back" before disappearing down the hall. Heather let out a huff of relief and continued to stand for a moment, examining the bright room, shielding her eyes from the sunlight that flooded in through the large windows, before moving carefully over to the vintage looking couch. Once seated, Heather crossed her legs, straightened her headband, fixed the collar on her shirt, smoothed down her skirt, cracked her knuckles -

"Will you stop fidgeting?"

Heather glanced at Edie, who was standing in the entryway, watching her, before replying, trying to keep her voice soft, "Sorry. I normally don't - I guess I'm just really nervous."

Edie's face softened. "Oh, liebe, don't worry. If things start to go back, I'll help you. I won't leave you alone." Something in Heather's gut twisted painfully upon hearing that, but she still smiled thankfully at the woman. She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of footsteps approaching the room became even more evident and oh god oh god oh god she wasn't ready -

Though his hair was straighter than it had been in the photo and he looked like ten times more irritated now, the man standing beside Charles was definitely Erik Lehnsherr. Out of the corner of her eye, Heather could see Edie covering her mouth with her hand shakily and if she looked closer, she could the tears shining in the woman's eyes.

"You, uh, may want to sit down."

Erik glanced at Charles, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, before Charles obeyed, moving to sit in one of the chairs nearby while Erik, however, remained standing, instead choosing to lean against a wall. With both of them looking at her expectantly and with no idea of how to start out, Heather - who had gone from no words to word vomit - blurted out, "I know you're a mutant."

Both of their eyes widened and they both opened their mouths, but before they could get any words out, Heather continued, wincing slightly at her stupid opening. "B-but I'm a mutant too, so don't - freak out or anything." They both visibly relaxed at that, though they still looked on the edge of their seats - literally and figuratively. "My mutation - it, uh, lets me see and hear dead people."

Erik's eyebrows rose, while Charles leaned forward, looking rather interested in what she had to say. "Like mediumship?" He offered, to which Heather nodded at. "Exactly, but - "

"Can you only see the souls of the deceased, or can you see the livings' souls too?"

Erik looked at Charles in confusion, but Heather understood what he meant. "Not as clearly as I see the deceased," she admitted, "With the dead - it's like seeing a normal person but with a living person - " She stopped, trying to think of the words to describe it, " - I have to focus more and it's like seeing - orbs, I guess."

Charles looked rather impressed at that. "Fascinating." He commented, and opened his mouth to continue, but Heather stopped him. "I - I'll explain my powers more later. But for now - " She turned to look at Erik, who looked surprised that the attention that been turned to him, " - I came here on some important business."

Here goes nothing. "Erik, your mother asked me to find you."

Erik froze for a moment, his eyes searching Heather's face for a sign that she was lying, that it was all a joke. But seeing none, several different expression appeared and disappeared on his face - surprise, pain, grief - before finally stopping on pissed off. Shit, Heather briefly thought, glancing over to make sure that Edie was right beside her -

"You think you're funny, don't you?" Erik hissed, pushing off of the wall to stalk towards her, "You think you're just the smartest person, don't you?" Oh god, oh god, the plan was backfiring. Heather stared at him in complete shock, not knowing what to do - she didn't even have a plan to begin with, but never had she even thought -

"Erik," Charles began, his voice low and calming, but that didn't stop him. Metal objects around the room began to pulse and shake angrily, much to Heather and Charles' horror.

"Is pretending to hear ghosts fun? Is giving people false hope exciting for you? Is - "

"Erik!"

"His middle name is Magnus."

Heather whipped around to face Edie, the "What?" slipping out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Both Erik and Charles quieted at that, looking at her puzzledly. "His middle name is Magnus," Edie repeated, "Tell him - we'll prove it to him." Heather stared at her for a moment and said, "Magnus. That - that's your middle name."

Erik stepped back at that, his mouth opening, but no sound coming out. The metal stilled around the room and Heather let out a shaky sigh of relief. "He found a dog when he was 6 and - he named it 'Spot'," Edie said fondly, "I - I hated that verdammt dog, but Jakob let him keep it."

"Spot. You found him when you were a kid and your mom hated him."

Charles looked between Erik and Heather in confusion, but Erik continued to stare at her, his eyes looking a little blurry. "When he was a baby," Edie added, her voice cracking, "He was a very fussy baby. At night, he would just wail and screech, and our neighbors - " She paused to laugh, wiping away some tears that had fallen, " - they would get so mad at us."

Heather's throat tightened as she repeated, "You - you were a fussy baby and you kept the neighbors up with your screams." Silence filled the room as Erik's gaze dropped from Heather to the floor, his hands clenching and unclenching beside him. Heather wished she could give him a hug, give him some kind of comfort, but before she could stand, Edie disappeared and reappeared beside her son. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around him, only for them to go through him, much to her sadness, but Erik shuddered at the sudden coldness.

"She's telling the truth."

Three pairs of eyes moved to look at Charles, who in turn looked at Erik with astonishment in his eyes. "I read her mind," He explained, "She's - she's not lying. Your mother - " He glanced over at where Edie was currently standing, Erik's eyes following his gaze.

"Wait, read my mind?"

"Sorry, darling, I don't normally do that without permission, but I just needed to clarify that you weren't lying." Heather stared at him with wide eyes, before nodding slowly. A telepath, a medium, and a metal manipulator all in the same room. Crazy.

It was silent for another moment, before Charles softly murmured to Erik, "I need to speak with you." Erik stayed only for a few more seconds then nodded slowly and followed him out of the room. Heather collapsed on the couch in exhaustion, letting out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Edie, that was - you did it. Oh my god, you did it."

Edie turned to look at her, her own eyes shining with unshed tears. But there was a sincere smile on the woman's face - something that Heather knew hadn't been seen for a long time. "We did it," she corrected, "Thank you, Heather. Thank you for bringing me to my baby." Before she could say anything more, Charles and Erik reentered the room.

The tears had disappeared from Erik's eyes, but he looked more focused, more relaxed. "We're been looking for mutants for quite some time," Charles began, "A man named Sebastian Shaw - " At that name, Edie let out a growl that sounded ten times more intimidating than Heather's. But it also was powerful enough that both Erik and Charles heard it. The men jumped, looking at Heather in horror, who simply waved for Charles to continue.

"It's just Edie. Go on it."

Charles was silent for a moment, before continuing, "Well, long story short, he's mutant extremist who wishes to start a nuclear World War III to insure that only mutants survive. And he intents to do this by having the USSR install missiles in - "

" - Cuba," Heather mumbled, her eyebrows furrowing. "I - remember hearing something on the news about that. The missile crisis." Charles nodded gravely. "But you two aren't going after him are you?" Charles and Erik glanced at each other, and Heather's heart skipped a beat in fear as she continued, "You - you can't possibly do this alone. That man probably has others with him, you wouldn't - "

"It's not just us," Erik clarified, "We've recruited others." Heather's mouth opened in an 'O' shape, her cheeks burning slightly in embarrassment. "We need all the mutants we can get," Charles added, and oh god, was he really asking what she thought he was?

"I don't - I'm not a really good fighter," Heather admitted, but Charles shook his head, chuckling softly. "We can train you. Plus, you never know what your mutation could unlock." She stared at them for a moment, thinking over the decision. She could do it. It wasn't like she had anything left in Washington, D.C..

But what about Joey?

Joey wasn't a mutant, Joey couldn't join her here. That - that was pretty good reason to go home. Joey had been there when her brother died, when her parents died, and she had been there when Joey's father had left him and his mother to raise 6 other children. They were each other's support system. She couldn't - she couldn't just leave him there alone. Another good reason - she didn't owe these people anything. She had promised Edie to find her son, not to join a war. But -

These people were mutants, like her. They would understand her in ways that a human like Joey never could. Plus, it wasn't like she was going to stay forever. She just needed to help them stop this Shaw man, and then she could return to her normal life. Or at least try to. And if the nuclear war was a success and they were right, well, there wouldn't be a Joey to care about.

Heather sat there in silence for at least five minutes, before she looked up at the men and said, "Where do I sign up?"


	6. Chapter 6

Once the door was closed, Heather began to examine the room that she would be staying in for the time being. The room was probably the most simple that she had seen in her time at the mansion; There was a loveseat with a small, plain coffee table on one end of the room, while a large bed sat on the other. There were two large windows across from the door and when Heather walked over and pulled back the drapes to look outside, light flooded into the dark, cold room.

Honestly, it appeared that no one had lived in room since - well, never. But - that was okay with her. It meant that she could finally get some sleep without someone who died in the room waking her up in the middle of the night. She knew that there were other ghosts in the house - she had caught glances of him out of the corner of her eyes while on the tour - but none of them had died in the room and that was a relief. Maybe Charles had considered her sensitivity when he told her which room was her's.

Or perhaps he just didn't want anyone in one of those rooms.

Either way, the room was blissfully quiet. So quiet that, while seating on one of the window seats and staring out at the yard, she was finally able to collect her thoughts from the rest of her hectic day.

"What do you mean you're staying in New York?"

Heather let out a sigh as she leaned against the wall, the phone still grasped firmly in her hand. After her discussion with Erik and Charles, she had asked to call Joey and explain the situation - well, as much of it as she could. "I'm still looking for Erik," she lied through her teeth, "I just need a few more days to find him. Or weeks."

"Weeks?" She could hear the utter shock in his voice, but before she could say anything, he continued, "Feather, I don't know. Do you want me to come up there with you? I can always use my vacation days."

"You used up all of your vacation days," she pointed out, "Besides, I'll be fine. I just need you to watch my apartment and check my mail - you know, stuff like that." Joey was silent for a moment and Heather briefly wondered if she had lost the call. "You're not in trouble, are you?" He asked eventually, his voice soft on the other line.

Heather couldn't help but let out a laugh, her fingers swirling the cord connecting the phone to the wall jack. "No, I'm not. And if I was, you'd be the first person I'd call." There was silence once more, then - A defeated sigh came from the other line and Heather could almost see him running his fingers through his hair. "Just call me, if you need anything - "

" - I will, I will - "

" - No," Joey's voice was suddenly very serious, "I'm not kidding, Heather. If you need anything - anything at all - just call me and I'll be there as fast as I can. No 'ifs', 'ands', and 'buts' about it. Got it?" Heather's throat tightened with emotion, as she gulped and replied, "Got it." She waited a few seconds before adding, "I - I have to go. I'll talk to later."

"Okay. Try to stay out of trouble, Coleman." The teasing tone was slowly beginning to return to Joey's voice, and it made Heather feel - lighter, like a weight had been lifted off of her. "You too, Moran," she responded with, before returning the plastic phone to the jack, the soft click signaling the end of the call.

Soon after the end of her call, Heather returned to the sitting room to find five other people - besides Charles and Erik - within. The talking ceased and all eyes turned to her, which honestly make her want to just make back away from the crowd. Sensing her discomfort, Charles stood up and stepped forward, mentioning her to come closer.

She hesitated for a moment, before making her way towards him, not looking any of the others directly in the eyes. She may not have known Charles for very long, but she still knew him and that make her a lot more comfortable around them than, well, any of the others. "This is Heather," he announced to the others, before glancing back at her, "And Heather, this is - "

" - Moira - " The brown haired woman gave her a once over, the cautiousness and suspicion never leaving her eyes.

" - Raven - " The girl with honey colored curls looked young enough to be a teenager, but she still gave her a friendly smile.

" - Alex - " The blonde haired boy crossed his arms, a look saying 'I-could-care-less' crossing his boyish face.

" - Sean - " The redheaded boy gave a simple, yet awkward wave.

" - Hank - " The man pushed up his thick framed glasses, before giving her a small smile.

" - And you already know Erik and I." Erik gave her an amused smirk from where he was standing. "Nice to meet you all," Heather said a little breathlessly, trying to make note of each of their names - while also trying to avoid Moira's gaze. "So," Raven asked, stepping forward, "What's your ability?"

"I, uh - " For a moment, Heather panicked. What if they didn't accept her like Charles did? What if they were afraid - even disgusted - by her power? She knew it was stupid, but you'd be surprised by how many people were uncomfortable with her gift. "I can see and talk to dead people," she explained finally, stepping back slightly, as if preparing for a hit.

Raven's eyes widened in astonishment and the rest of them looked at her with a new curiosity - even Alex looked a little interested. "Is there more to it than just that?" Moira questioned calmly, and Heather shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I've just never really - messed around with my powers before." Charles put a hand on her shoulder and said, "That's what we're here for. To help you uncover more about your powers."

"I thought we were here to fight Shaw."

The look Charles gave Sean was so unimpressed that even Heather had to laugh. As Charles stepped away from her, Raven came closer and - something about her just made Heather feel calm and relaxed, like she was with a close friend instead of a girl she barely knew. She could honestly see herself being friends with this girls. "Come on," she said, pulling Heather along, "I'll give you the tour."

On the tour was when Heather first caught some passing glances of a few ghost roaming the halls. Whenever she'd turn to get a good look at them, however, they were gone - almost as if they were never there. She tried not to dwell on the matter though - instead focusing on Raven, who was kindly explaining anything and everything that Heather asked. By the end of it, she was pretty well educated on what exactly was going on with their mission, as well as the powers of the others.

"Could you show me?"

Raven stopped and turned around to look at Heather with a confused expression. "Show you what?" Honestly, Heather didn't mean for it to slip out, but she was curious. "Your natural form," she explained, cheeks reddening in embarrassment, "I mean, only if you want to." Some expression passed over Raven's face, before she nodded and changed rather gracefully. It wasn't what Heather had really expected. Her skin was blue and scaly, her eyes yellow, and her hair red, but - it was still Raven. The shape of her face, the small smile - it was all her.

Heather gave her a wide smile, replying, "That's so cool." Raven blinked in surprise, as her body changed back to her human-like appearance. "You're not - " Raven may have appeared surprised, but a look of relief crossed her face. "Scared of you?" Heather finished, "Of course not."

Raven's blinding smile returned and she almost looked like she wanted to swirl Heather around in the air. "Can you show me how to talk to ghosts?" She asked after a moment. Heather glanced around, before shaking her head. "There's no ghost around here at this moment," She explained, "But when I find one, I'll come to you."

"There's one here?" Raven asked, her eyes widening.

"Actually, there's a few of them in the mansion."

"Oh, wow," Raven whistled, before turning and asking, "Wait, does everyone stay behind as a ghost?"

Once more Heather shook her head. "No, mainly it's just people who have things left to do or people who died suddenly." Raven thought over that for a while, before her smile returned and waved her on so that they could continue on their tour.

Once night started to fall, Heather let out a sigh and stand up, walking away from the window. She had promised the others that she would be done later after she finished unpacking what little things she had (when she explained that she didn't have any clean clothing, as she didn't except to stay all, Raven had immediately volunteered to let her borrow some of her clothing). Digging through her bag, she found something she had forgotten all about - her blanket.

The blanket had been made by her grandmother before she had died and was rather small - seeing as she had been two years old at the time - but still was very soft and comfy. The blanket was a dull red and had a picture of Raggedy Ann on it, and just the appearance of it made Heather feel too old for it. But she still held it to her chest and buried her face in it.

There was the overpowering musky smell of her closet on it, but she could almost smell her father's cologne - a distant memory by now - on, and in an instant, there was a heavyweight in her stomach and she began to realize how homesick she really was.

A sudden cry made her look up in surprise. But - it wasn't just any cry.

It was a baby's cry.

Heather stood slowly, listening closely as the faint wailing of an infant continued to fill the room. None of the others had babies with them - she would have known or they would have told her, so there was only one explanation - a baby had died in the house. Opening her door and walking out into the hallway, she began to follow the cries. And when she did, she finally caught a full on glance of two ghosts.

The first was a woman with short curly blonde hair and a red dress. She looked normal enough, expect for the fact that she stumbling around as if drunk and when Heather looked into her eyes - she didn't see anything staring back. Her eyes were dead, glazed over, and her blank, unblinking gaze fell upon her for a second before she looked away and continued on her way, her phantom heels clicking uneasily against the wood of the floor.

The last was a man who looked shockingly similar to Charles, just a few years older and with facial hair. He didn't see her, however, just continued to walk through her, the sudden cold chilling Heather to bone. But when she looked behind her, she saw that the man's back was covered in blood, his hair matted with it and lumps of his brain. A portion of the back of his head was missing, as if he put a gun in his mouth and -

The baby cried again, louder this time, and Heather turned around, shivering from the cold and the sight, then continued to walk.

She came to a door at the end of a hallway, the cries sounding as if they were right through it, and she reached down slowly to grasp the handle, and -

Nothing. It was locked.

"What are you doing?"

Heather let out a gasp and jumped, spinning around to face Erik - who was currently staring at her with a look of confusion on his face. Pressing a hand over her quickly beating heart, she breathed out, "Jesus, Erik, give a person a warning next time." Erik raised an eyebrow at the statement, before asking once more, "What are you doing?"

"I - Don't worry, it's nothing," She lied, beginning to walk past him. The baby wasn't crying anymore and maybe - maybe it had just been her imagination the whole time. Erik opened his mouth to say something, but Heather never heard any of it, as her hand came in contact with his bare forearm and she gasped.

Another fun thing she could do. Psychometry is what science called it, but really, it was basically when Heather touched someone who had something traumatizing happen in the past - something that caused strong and bad emotions - she could see and experience it. Fun, huh?

Upon touching Erik's arm, she began seeing flashes of images and visions. A man dressed with glasses and a surgeon light looked down at him with a smile, there was something in Erik's mouth and he wanted to scream, but he couldn't and suddenly, the man was holding up a surgeon's knife and all there was was pain. The same man was in front of Erik, holding a gun off to the side, and Erik looked back and - and it was Edie, a living, breathing Edie - and Erik turned back, his hands out in front of him as he tried to - to move a stupid coin - and suddenly, there was loud bang and Edie was on the ground, blood was everywhere, and a scream ripped through Erik, sorrow and anger boiling in his veins.

Then there was darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Heather ripped her hand away from Erik's arm and stepped back, her eyes blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear her vision. The horrifying images seemed to be burned into her brain, however, and the more she tried, the harder it was to forget them. Someone had tortured Erik when he was only a child and that same person had killed Edie - his own mother - right before his own eyes. The thought and the memories had Heather's stomach doing somersaults and she felt the sudden need to throw up.

Erik, who looked at her with both confusion and concern, reached out hesitantly for her and he was saying something - but the ringing in her ears prevented her from hearing any of it. Feeling suddenly very sweaty and shaking, Heather moved past him as quick as she could. "I'm fine," she tried to reassure him, "I'm perfectly - I just - I just need to sit down."

She managed to stumble her way down the hall to her room, closing the door behind her as she entered. She leaned against the wood for a moment, trying to calm her breathing, before finally getting up and moving to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. It took a while for her to get used to the bright lights within, but she moved quickly towards the sink. The water was cool in her hands and on her flushed cheeks, and it helped ease her nausea.

She placed her hands on either side of the sink, leaning against it as she looked down in it. Edie hadn't mentioned that. Edie hadn't mentioned any of that. She didn't expect for Edie to tell her everything but - that was big. That was really big. She had known about the treatment of the Jews within the camps, her brother had told her almost everything about them after he died, but something told Heather that what happened to Erik wasn't because he was Jewish.

It was because he was a mutant.

A sudden drop of red in the porcelain white sink had her thoughts coming to a halt.

And then another.

And then another.

And suddenly hot, thick blood was running down her mouth, down her chin and into the sink. She clamped her hand over her nose, trying hard not to choke on the liquid or the heavy smell of iron now filling the room. She scrambled away from the sink and grabbed the first towel she could find - a white one, of course it had to be the one that would stain - and pressed it against her bleeding nose.

There was a loud knock from the other room, and Heather called out, "I - I'll be out in a minute." It took more than a minute for her nose to stop bleeding, but when it did, she let out a relieved sigh before walking out of the bathroom to answer the door. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she spotted a familiar shape.

"Heather," Edie asked as she stepped forward, "What happened, schatz?" Heather was silent for a moment, before asking her own question. "I had a vision of Erik. He was - being tortured by a man. Do you know him? The man, I mean." Edie's face went blank, her face deathly pale in the darkness of the room. "You need to rest," she responded, her voice cracking, "You shouldn't strain yourself so much."

"Edie - "

Another loud knock had Heather turning to look at the door for a moment, before looking back at Edie - or where Edie should have been. Letting out a sigh, she shook her head and moved to open the door. Erik was standing there, looking surprisingly awkward and concerned, and when he saw her, his eyes widened almost comically.

Why was he - Oh, the blood.

She hadn't washed the dried blood off her mouth or nose, so she probably looked like something straight out of a horror film. "Uh - sorry, I'm just gunna - " She motioned behind her, before moving back to the stained sink to wet down the towel and scrub the dark red liquid off. Once she was done, she dried off and turned the faucet off, an awkward silence falling over them once the sound of running water was gone.

The worried look didn't leave Erik's face the whole time, and she tried to reassure him again. "I'm fine. It was just a tiny nose bleed." Erik's lips pressed together into a tight frown, before he began, "In the hallway... "

" - Yeah?"

" - When you grabbed my arm... What happened?"

Heather considered telling him the truth, that she knew about the man torturing him, that she knew how his mother died. But instead, she gave him a weak smile. "Nothing. I just got a really bad headache. I'm perfectly fine now, so why don't we go down by the others?" Heather tried to push past him - careful not to grab his bare arm - but Erik moved in front of her, looking down at her with a suspicious look in his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm - " Not okay, definitely not okay, " - fine. Perfectly fine. Let's go." Erik stared at her for a moment, watching her for a change of expression or any sign that she was lying, but, seeing none, he sighed and moved out of her way, allowing her to walk out of the room. He followed her out and walked a little faster until the two were side by side. Silence fell over the two as they made their way towards the staircase, and it was finally broken when Erik cleared his throat and asked, "How long was my mother with you before you came here?"

"The first time I saw your mom was - probably around 2 weeks ago."

"Has she - talked about anyone else?"

Heather thought over all of her and Edie's conversations. She had mentioned her husband and other family members previously - but all of them had been the past tense and not in the they're-ghosts-too tense. "Not really," she responded, before quickly adding, "You were all she really talked about."

Erik smiled at that, but it was small and bitter and Heather would have tried to comfort him if something big hadn't come to her attention.

Edie's wish was to see Erik again and that wish had been fulfilled.

So why was Edie still here?

"Do I really need training?"

The next day, with the sun shining bright and the breeze cool and crisp, Heather should have been lying out on a towel beside Raven and enjoying the lovely weather. But instead, she was standing in the shade beside Hank and Charles and listening to them chatter on about training. "I see dead people. Unless there's a ghost around, I'm useless. Let's just accept that and move on."

Heather turned to walk away, but Charles quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Not so fast." Heather let out a groan, but stayed put and crossed her arms. "Now, after some research, I found out something very interesting. The reason you can see ghosts is because your mind unconsciously manipulates the astral plane, therefore allowing you to see spirits."

Hank wrinkled his nose. "Astral plane?"

"Basically the spirit world," Charles replied, before turning back to Heather, "If we could figure out a way for you to consciously manipulate it, there's no telling what you could do." Heather was silent for a moment, letting what Charles had just said sink in. So, if she could just figure out how to control the astral plane, she could unlock some powers that she never even knew she had. That sounded - pretty amazing actually. But one thing was bothering her...

"If I learn how to control it - would I be able to turn my mediumship off?"

Charles frowned at that. "Yes, I guess you could." Heather paused once more at that. Did she even want that? What would it even be like without her power? Without the constant appearance of the dead in her life? She'd be normal. Never again would she have to be caught talking to herself, never again would she have to be called names or teased.

But - it would be lonely.

Heather sighed, glancing at Charles, before looking straight ahead and placing her hands out in front of her. "Now, just concentrate," Charles said soothingly as he stepped back. Heather closed her eyes and began to chant to herself: Controlitcontrolitcontrolitcontrolitcontrolit. But nothing happened.

Heather pursed her lips, before trying again, harder this time. This was different from when she usually used her powers. Normally it just - happened and now it just wasn't. After a few moments of trying, she stopped and turned to Charles. "It's not working." By then, the other mutants had joined them and were watching her curiously.

Charles nodded, before suggesting, "Why don't you try doing something you know you can do? You said when we met that you could the souls of the living, right?"

Heather nodded, closing her eyes and calmed herself as much as she could, before opening her eyes again. This time, she saw bright orbs inside each of their chests, each one different colored and unique. The souls also held a person's deepest secrets and she could usually hear the whispers, but with so many people around her, it sounded more like a hum instead of real words. "What do they look like?" Raven asked, stepping forward. She turned to look closely at Raven's which was - different from any other that she had seen. Raven's changed color every time Heather blinked; one second it was blue and the one next second it was green.

"It's the color of your eyes," Heather explained in a breathless voice. "Eyes are the windows to the soul," Erik added silently, almost to himself. Suddenly, the whispers were beginning to get louder and louder, and Heather found it too hard to keep focusing with the many voices in her ears. She decided to end it then - she really didn't need another bloody nose - and squeezed her eyes closed, the voices finally, blissfully fading away.

Heather was folding her blanket when Edie reappeared in her room. She set the blanket down gently, before glancing at where Edie was standing. The woman had her back turned to her as she looked out of the big window at the moon that was currently hung high in the sky. "You never answered my question from before," Heather said softly, hoping she wouldn't disappear again.

Instead, Edie sighed and turned to face Heather, her face looking suddenly very defeated. She moved slowly to sit on the bed beside Heather, not looking in her eyes the entire time. "Who was that man?" She asked once more, her voice gentle and a little concerned.

Edie remained silent for a moment, before looking up into her eyes - the pain and sorrow deep within - and saying, "Klaus Schmitz. But - you would know him as Sebastian Shaw."

Shaw. Shaw.


End file.
